


Had a Lot to Recommend to It

by bloodredcherries



Category: Sweet Valley High - Francine Pascal
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-19
Updated: 2015-05-17
Packaged: 2018-03-13 20:17:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 12,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3395027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bloodredcherries/pseuds/bloodredcherries
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He sighed. "I'm sorry I've been a shitty boyfriend lately," he admitted. "I shouldn't let myself get hung up on my sisters' lives like that."</p><p>"It's okay," she murmured. </p><p>"No, it's not," he insisted. "It's not okay."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"What are we going to do?" Steven asked Billie softly, sitting beside her on the couch. "What do you want to do?"

Nothing else mattered to Steven Wakefield at that moment -- not Elizabeth's troubles fitting in at SVU, not even the fact that Jessica was shacking up with the ape downstairs -- all that mattered to him was the fact that his girlfriend was sat beside him sobbing her eyes out and there was a positive pregnancy test on their bathroom counter.

Billie wordlessly shook her head.

"You don't have to know yet," he soothed, reaching out to rub her back. "We have some time to decide."

"You don't have to stay," came the muffled reply, and Steven felt his heart break at the tone of Billie's voice. "It doesn't have to be your problem."

"It's not a problem," he protested, sincere. "It's a baby. Our baby."

"Then why do you keep askin' me what I want to do?" Billie asked hoarsely, taking a tissue from the rapidly depleting box on the table and dabbing at her eyes with it. "If it's our baby we should make the decision together, right?"

Steven hadn't realized that his genuinely earnest decision to let Billie be the one to decide everything in regards to the baby -- not the baby, he corrected inwardly, their baby -- was unfortunately being construed as his attempting to abandon them. 

"I just want to make sure you're happy," he said. "I don't want to pressure you into doing something you don't want to do, yeah?"

"Like what?" 

He sighed. "Do you want to keep the baby?"

Billie stared at him, before nodding minutely. "Yes," she told him, staring down at her lap. "I don't want to get rid of it, or anything like that. But you don't have to stay."

Steven really wished Billie would stop saying that.

"I know I don't," he replied. "I want to. You're having our baby," he breathed, smiling at her. "We're gonna have a family. Why wouldn't I want to stay?"

"Because you have your whole life ahead of you," she answered. "I'm just your girlfriend."

"You're not 'just my girlfriend'," he chided gently, slipping his arm around her shoulders. "You are my whole life. I love you. So much."

He sighed. "I'm sorry I've been a shitty boyfriend lately," he admitted. "I shouldn't let myself get hung up on my sisters' lives like that."

"It's okay," she murmured. 

"No, it's not," he insisted. "It's not okay."

Billie let out a sigh. "Can we just forget about it?" She leaned her head against his chest. "I'm tired."

 

***

_  
Something soft and delicate brushed against Jessica's lips. Memories of their first night in their own home as husband and wife drifted through her mind. Forgetting about Steven, they'd spent most of the evening making love. Marriage, Jessica had decided by the time she and Mike were eating grilled cheese sandwiches and sharing a bottle of beer by candlelight, had a lot to recommend it._

_That same something brushed Jessica's lips once more. Slowly, she opened her eyes. Mike's mouth touched hers again. "Good morning, Mrs. McAllery," he said. "And how are you on this beautiful morning?"_

_Jessica stretched against his body, closing her arms around his warm, smooth skin. "I'm just wonderful, Mr. McAllery," she said between kisses. "I'm just as wonderful as I could possibly be."_

_"You are that," he breathed. "You are the most wonderful thing in the world."_

_Over his shoulder, her eye caught sight of the clock radio. "I'm also late," she said, gently pulling out of their embrace. "Ive got a nine o'clock class I can't afford to cut again."_

_Much to Jessica's surprise, he didn't argue. "Far be it for me to cause you to miss one minute of school," Mike said, sitting up. He grinned. "Anyway, I know you're anxious to see your friends so you can tell them the news."_

_Jessica grinned back. It was true, she was excited about telling her friends. They weren't going to believe that she was no longer Jessica Wakefield, just another teenage freshman, but Mrs. Michael McAllery, a married woman._

_"I can't wait to see the look on Isabella's face when I tell her," she admitted._

_"It's the look on your brother's face when he finds out that I want to see," Mike said._

 

***

 

"Get out of my way," Steven told Mike McAllery tiredly, attempting to get past him to the mailboxes. "I really don't have time to deal with this."

Steven honestly hadn't meant anything by the comment -- Billie had spent the better part of the morning throwing up, and he had spent it sitting beside her, offering her ice chips and rubbing her back.

For once, Steven's rudeness had nothing to to with his downstairs neighbor. 

Or his moron sister. 

"Why don't you like me?" Mike asked. "What did I do?"

Okay, maybe Steven should have actually responded to that question, instead of pushing past Mike, but he really wasn't in the mood.

"Just lay off," he said. "I don't have time to deal with you."

"I just want to talk," Mike insisted. "Jessica and I have something to tell you!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jessica didn't see the big deal. So what if Steven didn't like Mike? It meant one less person that had to know about the marriage. And that frankly suited Jessica McAllery just fine.

Steven had really meant to apologize to Mike for shoving him. He really had meant to. 

But a week had gone by and naturally he hadn't -- he'd been rather busy -- and the next time he'd seen Mike he and Jessica were in the parking lot, making out. 

"Get a room," he couldn't help commenting, rather brusquely. "You have an apartment, why don't you round the bases in there?"

"Oh, lay off," Jessica replied, rather snottily. "What's the matter with you? Mike and I can do what we want, same as you and Billie."

"Lay off Billie," Steven snapped. "What gives you the right to compare the lot of us? Billie and I aren't practically getting it on in the parking lot!"

"What do you mean, "same as you and Billie"?" Mike interjected. "You didn't tell me that Steven and Billie were married."

"Mike, shut up," Jessica hissed, but it was too late. Steven had already heard the statement, or at least, he thought he had.

He wondered if maybe he should have paid attention to the entire sentence that Mike had said, but to say that Steven Wakefield had had quite enough of people criticizing his and Billie's decisions about her pregnancy was putting it midly -- and they had only told her parents! He had no idea how Mike had found out.

"You lay off Billie too," Steven told Mike, in a low, deadly, whisper. "Who gave you the right to judge us for our decisions?"

"I'm not judging you!" Mike replied. "You're the one who's judging me and Jessica!"

"Bullshit," he spat. "It's 2014. You don't have to get married anymore."

"Steven -- " Jessica said, weakly, as he stormed past them.

"Forget it, Jess," he snapped. "I don't want to hear about it."

 

***

 

"What do you want me to say?" Jessica asked Mike, rather wearily. "I told you, Steven doesn't get us."

Jessica didn't see the big deal. So what if Steven didn't like Mike? It meant one less person that had to know about the marriage. And that frankly suited Jessica McAllery just fine.

"I want him to like me," Mike replied, and she bit back a sigh. "He's your brother."

"So?" She raised a brow. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"I want him to like me," he repeated. "I don't know why he hates me."

Jessica rolled her eyes. "Duh, it's because you drive a motorcycle," she told him. "Poor cousin Rexy and drippy sister Liz, weren't smart enough to not get into accidents with theirs, and naturally everyone else who drives one is persona non grata in Steven's mind." Persona non grata was a word Liz used, Jessica didn't even know what it meant. It just sounded good.

The fact that Mike actually looked sad about this only served to irritate her. 

"What's the big deal?" Jessica demanded. "Who the hell cares what Steven thinks? He doesn't have to know we got married!"

"I don't want to be a dirty little secret," he told her. "Why wouldn't you tell him?"

"Clearly he's sick," she drawled. "He had that twelve pack of gingerale with him. Do you want me catching anything? It's probably contagious."

Beside her, Mike sighed. "You're his sister. It being 2014 shouldn't change the fact that we're together and we love each other."

"Oh, please," she snapped. "Why do you care? So what if Steven doesn't like us! It's not the end of the world."

Jessica was just thanking her lucky stars Steven had taken Mike's comment to mean that he and Billie were hitched, instead of the truth. She didn't think she could bear anyone finding out about Mike being her husband. 

 

***

 

"How are you feeling?" Billie heard as she laid sprawled on the couch, half watching television. She lifted her head and stared at Steven, and managed a slight smile.

She really wanted her morning sickness to go away. 

"I'm okay," she said. "Just relaxin'. I feel better than I did earlier."

He smiled back at her. "I bought you some ginger ale," he said. "Do you feel up to it?"

She nodded. "Yeah," she whispered. "I feel fine. I'm actually kinda hungry." She sat up and patted the couch beside her. "Come sit with me," she implored, and Steven did. 

"You sure you're alright?" Steven asked her again, handing her the bottle of ginger ale. "Is this normal?"

"Yeah," she soothed. "It's just morning sickness, that's all. It means the baby's healthy," she said, taking a sip of her drink. "I promise, nothing's the matter."

"You don't look pregnant," he said after a moment, studying her. "I thought you'd look pregnant." She giggled as he reached out and touched her abdomen. "When are you gonna start?"

"We just found out I was pregnant a week ago," she said, moving closer to him. "I suspect we'll be waiting awhile for that." 

Not that Billie was complaining at all, in fact she was glad that she didn't look pregnant yet, but she did think Steven was being awfully cute about the baby.

"You love it, don't you?" Billie asked him softly, noticing that her boyfriend's hands hadn't moved from their position on her [still flat, for the moment] abdomen. "The baby. You really love it."

Steven nodded. She watched him lick his lips before responding. "Yeah, of course I do," he said huskily. "It's our baby. We made it."

"Yeah," she echoed. "That we did."

"I'm sorry I got you pregnant," he mumbled. "I've fucked it all up for you, haven't I?" He stared down at the ground as he asked, and Billie felt her heart breaking. 

Steven had spent the past week beating himself up over the fact that he had gotten her pregnant, and it made her feel terrible. 

She shook her head. "No," she assured him. "Steven, look at me," she soothed. "Nothing's been fucked up. Things are just going to be different, that's all. But it's not like we weren't gonna have kids together eventually," she pointed out. "We were, right?"

"I wanted to," he said, without hesitating. "I want to," he corrected. "I love you."

He gave her a kiss on the lips, which she eagerly returned. "I love you too," she breathed, kissing him again. "So much."

Steven ran his hands down her sides, placing a row of kisses down her neck, and she moaned with pleasure, unbuttoning her blouse. "I love this too," she assured him, when he pulled away momentarially. "Don't stop."

"You're sure it's alright?" Steven asked, unhooking her bra as he did. "It's not gonna hurt you?"

"It's fine," she promised. "It feels really good, actually."


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Steve?" Billie asked in a whisper. "Did your sister just say Elizabeth was dating William White?"
> 
> "Does it matter?" Steven asked tiredly. 
> 
> "I think he's the leader of that Secret Society," she informed him. "I don't think it's good that Liz is dating him."

"Hi," Mike heard as he worked on his motorcycle in the parking lot of Misoma, and he glanced in the direction of the voice, squinting due to the sun. "I heard you do cars, yeah?"

He quickly realized that the person speaking to him was Billie from upstairs -- his sister-in-law -- and he stood, wiping his hands [they were covered in motor oil] on his jeans. Even if Jessica didn't think Steven hating him was a big deal, Mike sure thought it was. 

"Yeah, I'm a mechanic," he confirmed. "Did you need some advice?"

"The car's been running bad," she replied, shrugging her shoulders. "Mine's, not Steven's. I don't know what's wrong with it."

"You want me to take a look at it?" Mike offered. 

Billie shrugged again. "I can't afford to have it looked at right now," she replied, looking at the ground. "Something's come up, we don't have the money." He noticed that she covered her abdomen as he said that, but he didn't pay the gesture any mind. "I would feel bad asking for your help."

"Why?" Mike demanded. "I don't mind. We're family. Even if Steven doesn't think so."

She eyed him curiously, before pursing her lips. "I can't pay you much," she mumbled.

"You don't have to pay me anything," he said firmly. "I don't mind."

She nodded minutely. "Thanks," she whispered. "Hey, is that a Triumph?" 

"Yeah," he told her. "Vintage. How do you know?"

She shrugged. "I knew people that rode bikes back home," she answered. "Those are from England, it must be worth a fortune. How does it ride?"

"It rides pretty well," Mike said. "You wanna go for a spin?"

Billie quickly shook her head. "I can't," she told him. "It's nothing personal. I would if I could." 

"Steven don't want you to?" Mike guessed.

"I'm p-not feeling very well," she told him. "It's got nothing to do with Steven. Not really, at least."

He didn't believe her, but he didn't want to press. "Where's your car?"

'"Over here," she told him. "I don't know what's gone wrong with it."

He gave her a ghost of a smile. "So you've said. Steven can't fix it?"

She shook her head at him. "He can do some stuff, yeah? But not car rehabilitation or anything like that. Besides, I know you're with Jessica, so I thought I would introduce myself."

With? Mike thought to himself, trying not to question his sister-in-law's terminology out loud. He didn't really know the Wakefields very well, after all. He didn't want to get off on the wrong foot.

He followed Billie over to the parking spot, trying not to cringe at the condition of the vehicle beside it. "Is that yours?" It was a battered Volkswagen Bug that had clearly long since past "relatively okay" days and had probably seen "better" days decades ago. 

"It's Steve's," she said. "Why?"

"It looks like a shitbox," he said, honestly. "Is there anything wrong with it?"

"No," she told him. "It's just a bit beat up."

Neither of them noticed the specter of Jessica McAllery quickly approaching, hands on her hips.

"What is going on here?" Jessica snapped, eying the two suspiciously. 

 

***

 

Okay, so Steven really wasn't so inept at cars that he couldn't have changed the oil in Billie's, but really Billie had only wanted to speak to Mike on a proper level to find out why on earth Steven was nattering on and on about "Mike McAllery being worse than your parents". So maybe she was taking advantage of Mike a bit, but he had been the one to offer. 

Having Jessica eyeing them in disgust was really frankly too much for Billie to bear at the moment.

"I asked him to look at my car," she told her. "The oil light's on."

"You don't get to do that," Jessica drawled. 

Billie raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really? Where is Steven's money, then."

"What do you mean?" 

"The money Steven lent you when you came around to our apartment a few weeks ago," she said matter-of-factly. "You came buy sobbing about how your account was overdrawn and how Liz was pissed off because you impersonated her at the bank and took her money, which I believe is technically identity fraud," she continued. "And about how you "needed just a bit to get by" and Steven gave you two hundred bucks."

"That's totally different," Jessica replied with a smirk. "Steven's my brother."

"So?" Billie asked with a sigh. "I think that if you want to say I can't ask Mike to look at the car, you can't ask Steven for money."

"You asked Steven for money?" Mike asked Jessica warily. "Why didn't you just tell me?"

"Because he's my brother," she said airily. 

"Because Jessica's family enables her to an embarrassing extent," Billie cut in flatly. "Not so much Steven, he mainly gave her the money to shut her up, but the parents and Elizabeth? Definitely."

"I would have given you money if you had said you needed some," Mike told Jessica. "Great, no wonder Steven hates me," he announced. "He probably thinks I don't provide for you."

"Steven doesn't hate you," she protested weakly, feeling the need to defend her boyfriend. "He's just got a lot going on."

"Oh, please," Jessica snapped. "You don't have to lie."

"I'm not lying," she insisted, feeling her stomach turn as she did. "He doesn't."

She really wanted to throw up, and she pursed her lips together, hoping to make it stop. 

"What's with you?" Jessica demanded. "Why are you so pale?"

She simply shook her head. She wouldn't throw up. She wouldn't.

"You look like you're about to ralph," Jessica said drolly. "Um, that's so not cool, trying to get my man sick."

"I'm not sick," Billie managed to get out, before she threw up all over Jessica.

 

***

 

"Go away," Steven told Jessica later that afternoon, trying to get a word in edgewise over her ranting. "I don't want to hear about it."

"But Billie threw up on me!" Jessica shouted at him, stomping her feet. "You have to do something, she did that on purpose."

He let out a sigh. "No she didn't," he said firmly. "She doesn't feel well, leave her alone."

"Oh, so now Billie's feelings are important to you? What about mine?"

"What are you, five?" Steven demanded. "Leave Billie alone. She doesn't feel well, who cares about whatever the hell your problem is. Can't you go annoy Mike?"

"Mike feels bad for her," she snapped, rolling her eyes. "He says that he hopes she feels better."

"Why don't you then?" Steven sighed.

"Duh," she drawled. "I don't think she's sick. I think she puked on purpose to piss me off."

"Go away," he said again. 

"Mike said to give this to you," she muttered, handing Steven a check. "He says I shouldn't have begged you for money."

Steven Wakefield took the check from his obnoxious flighty sister warily, making to swing the door closed with his other hand. "Tell him thanks," he muttered.

"That's all you have to say to me?" Jessica demanded. 

He sighed. "Please leave us alone," he said. "Please."

"Why???" She whined, and he silently counted to ten before answering. 

"Because we don't feel well," he sighed. "Just please, Jess? Go bug Liz or something."

She shook her head. "Ugh, no," she drawled. "Not since she ditched Peter for William White."

"Fine," he said, closing the door in her face. "I don't care what you do."

All Steven cared about at the moment was making sure Billie was okay. He really could care less about the trials and tribulations of Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield. He returned to the living room, where said girlfriend was curled up underneath a pile of blankets, and he sat down beside her. He absentmindedly started to run his fingers through her silky brown hair, trying to relax.

"Steve?" Billie asked in a whisper. "Did your sister just say Elizabeth was dating William White?"

"Does it matter?" Steven asked tiredly. 

"I think he's the leader of that Secret Society," she informed him. "I don't think it's good that Liz is dating him."

"You worry too much," he said, leaning over to kiss her on the lips. "It's not good for the baby."

She smiled at him. "How do you know?"

"I looked it up," he admitted softly. "I've been doing research. You probably think that's geeky."

She shook her head. "I think it's sweet, Steven Wakefield. You're a good guy. You're a great daddy already. It's not geeky at all."

Billie sat up, crawling on to his lap before continuing. "The baby loves you, you know that, right? It's right here," she told him, taking his hand and placing it on her abdomen. "When you rub my belly I don't feel as sick anymore."

"I do that?" He asked, awed, staring down at her. "It knows it's me?"

She nodded. "Yeah, of course. It knows who daddy is. It's a smart baby, it takes after you."

"And its mommy," he chided gently. 

"And its mommy," she agreed. "I'm sorry I threw up on Jessica."

"Don't worry about it," he said. "You should have got it in her hair."

She giggled. "Stop it," she said. "You're terrible. But I love you anyways."

"I love you too," he assured her. "You feeling okay?"

"Yeah," she said softly. "I'm okay."


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You can say no," he promised, slipping the box out of his jacket pocket. "I don't want to force you into anything," he continued, because honestly he just wanted to be with Billie forever, married or not married, "but will you marry me?"

"Mmm," Billie said, cuddling closer to Steven as she struggled to wake up, torn between the desire to stay in bed with him the entire day and the reality of the fact that they couldn't. Not the least because the more she woke the more nauseous she got. "Good morning," she whispered. "I'll be right back."

She slipped out of bed and ran to their bathroom before he could say a word in response, promptly throwing up the contents of her stomach the second she reached the toilet.

"Baby," she heard Steven call to her, as she heard the bathroom door open and close. Soon enough, her boyfriend was kneeling beside her, rubbing the small of her back. 

"Thanks," she managed weakly after a moment, smiling slightly at him. "I feel better now." She did -- at least a little.

She brushed her teeth before sinking against him, exhausted. "Can we cuddle?" She whispered, shooting him a hopeful look. 

"Yeah, sure," he said, slipping his arms around her and leading her back to bed. "We can always cuddle."

"I love you," she whispered, giving him a kiss. "You're a good guy."

"This is all my fault," he muttered. 

"What are you talking about?" Billie demanded, staring up at him. "Nothing's your fault."

"I made you sick," he mumbled.

"No you didn't," she said. "It's just a part of pregnancy, that's all."

"You don't blame me?"

She shook her head. "No, of course not," she said. "It means the baby's doing good."

"Yeah?" Billie couldn't help notice how excited Steven's voice got when she he asked the question, and she shot him a shy smile. 

"Yeah," she said, taking his hand and placing it on her abdomen. "Yeah, I promise. It's no one's fault, it's just natural. You shouldn't beat yourself up over it."

"The baby's okay?" Steven asked, as he shot her a worried look. "Everything's alright? Really?"

"Yeah," she told him. "You heard what the doctor said. It's normal, it should go away in a few weeks."

"I know," he conceded, as he kept his hand on her belly, even though she'd let go. "It's just...you don't feel well, and I love you, and our baby is in here, and I love it, and I want to make you better."

"I know you do," she whispered. "And I have been feeling better lately. Because of you, yeah?"

"Yeah?" 

She nodded. "Yeah, you make me feel loads better," she assured him. "All the time."

 

***

 

"What is your problem?" Mike asked Jessica. "All I want to know is why you haven't told any of your family that we're married yet."

Mike McAllery thought that it was a fair question, he was pretty sure that most people didn't hide their marriages, at least not from their flesh and blood, but judging by the color that Jessica's face was turning, he was yet again in the wrong.

"You heard Steven," she told him. "He told me to leave them alone."

"I think he was upset because you were horrible to Billie," he pointed out. "I don't think he meant forever."

"She threw up on me!" Jessica shrieked. "Why does everyone blame me? What was I supposed to do?!"

"Ask her if she was feeling alright?"

Jessica scoffed. "Ugh, no. Please, she's just a drama queen. What's the point of throwing up if you're just going to pack on the pounds?"

"Maybe she's pregnant?" Mike suggested.

Jessica rolled her eyes. "Don't be daft. Steven wouldn't be so stupid as to ruin his life like that."

"They're married, though," he pointed out. "It's not like it wouldn't be a natural step."

"Only to some people," she smirked. "Not me, though. I don't want to have kids."

Mike wanted kids, but knew by now to hold his tongue. 

"What about your sister? And your parents."

Jessica rolled her eyes. "Oh, please, they'll never approve of us."

"I really want them to know."

 

***

 

"Hello there, Billie dear," Billie heard as an unfortunate visitor joined her at the empty table she'd managed to snag in the SVU dining hall. Jessica Wakefield. Ugh. 

To say Billie was annoyed at her near sister-in-law was putting it mildly. 

The limp salad Jessica had grabbed was grossing her out as well. She was finally feeling ravenous, it figured that she was faced with the Wakefield family's missing link and her unappetizing food. 

"Go away," she said, resting her feet on the chair opposite her, hoping it annoyed Jessica enough to make her move. 

"No, I don't think so," she cooed, a fake smile on her face. "You've been annoying me lately."

She sighed loudly. 

If Jessica wasn't going to leave, she was going to ignore her. She turned the page in the pregnancy book she was reading, not even caring if her dining companion noticed or saw. She was going to have a baby. With the guy she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. It wasn't some terrible secret or anything.

She took a bite of her sandwich, following it with a handful of chips.

"Oh, ugh," she heard, and she boredly raised an eyebrow. "Dude, do you want to keep gaining weight? Like Liz?"

"There's nothing wrong with how I look," she told her, wearily.

"Uh, you look like a fattass," she replied. 

Billie sighed again. "I'm eating for two now," she informed her. "I'm meant to gain weight."

"Just because Steven's on a diet doesn't mean you have to eat all his food," she said witheringly. "If you get fat he'll never sleep with you again."

 

***

 

"No, you're not a fattass," Steven whispered to Billie, wrapping his arms around her as they sat in her car. "You're not," he insisted. 

"Jessica said I was," she wailed, sobbing into her chest. "She said I was a fattass and if I got any fatter you'd never sleep with me again."

He was really going to kill his sister. Seriously, he wanted to strangle her.

"You could weigh six hundred pounds and I would still want to sleep with you," he told her in a low voice. "You carrying our inchworm doesn't change that I think you're the sexiest woman on the planet."

"You mean that?" 

He gave her a gentle kiss. "Yeah," he promised. "I'll speak to Jessica."

"Now?" Billie asked him tearfully. He shook his head.

"No, now I thought we could blow off class and go for a drive," he said honestly, kissing her again. 

"Can we get an ice cream?" She smiled at him, and he nodded. 

"We can get the biggest ice cream you want," he said. 

"With everything on it?" Billie asked him, and he couldn't say no to her hopeful expression. "All the toppings I want?"

"Of course," he promised. "Is that what our inchworm wants?"

She nodded, the action making her ponytail bounce. "Our inchworm sure does," she said, as he slipped his arm around her shoulders. "Baby loves its daddy," she continued. "Especially when you make its mommy feel better."

Steven opened his mouth, about to ask her the question that had been on the tip of his tongue since they'd found out about the baby -- and really, in the back of his mind for months now -- but he stopped himself. He wasn't going to ask his girlfriend to marry him in the commuter parking lot of SVU. He could do better than that. 

"Do I make you feel better?" He asked instead, getting a kiss in response, as he put the car in gear. 

"Yeah," she said softly. "All the time." 

"I love you," he murmured, rubbing her side as he did. 

"I know," she beamed. "I love you too."

They drove in a comfortable silence -- silence was so rare with Jessica living below them -- and when Steven realized that Billie was sound asleep he decided to take advantage of that and drive to the beach. He was going to ask her, he thought to himself, taking extra care to mind the road as he fully realized that he had some very precious cargo sat beside him. He almost couldn't believe that it was really true -- that they were having a baby, that he was going to be a daddy -- but it was. He couldn't bear the thought of anything happening to either of them.

"Did I fall asleep?" Billie asked him sleepily, drawing him out of his reverie. He grinned down at her.

"Yeah," he whispered. "You can go back to sleep, if you want?"

"No, that's okay," she whispered. "It's fine. I just needed a little nap."

"The baby tires you out?" Steven asked softly, rubbing the back of her neck. 

"Yeah, and your obnoxious sister," she sighed. 

"I'm sorry about her," he said honestly, reaching out to touch her belly. "She shouldn't have said that to you. And you're not a fattass, I promise."

"I believe you," she whispered. "Where are we going?" Confusion was evident in her eyes, and he smiled at her.

"The beach," he said. "What better place is there to get ice cream?"

"Mmm," she agreed, smiling back at him. "I think I want a soft serve twist."

"You're having a craving?" Steven asked, noticing how she'd looked down at her belly as she'd said it.

"Yeah," she said. "You think that's cool?"

"Yeah," he promised. "I didn't think the baby was big enough to make that happen yet," he admitted. "It's getting big now, yeah?"

She nodded. "Yeah, a bit bigger," she responded, as she placed her hands on her abdomen. "I reckon, at least. The doctor said it was growing on schedule."

"You're sure everything feels okay?"

"Oh, yes, Steven," she said, and he let her take his free hand and place it on her abdomen, before she carefully lifted her shirt and camisole, settling their hands on her bare skin, "I wouldn't lie to you, I'd tell you if something wasn't going right."

"I know," he murmured. "Can I ask you something?"

Steven had realized that Billie was actually showing, at least a little bit, and when he'd realized that, all his careful plans about "waiting for the right moment" had completely evaporated. In his mind, the right moment was right there, right then, even though though they had pulled over so they were stopped in the breakdown lane of the freeway. 

"Yeah, of course," she replied, smiling up at him. "You can ask me anything."

"You can say no," he promised, slipping the box out of his jacket pocket. "I don't want to force you into anything," he continued, because honestly he just wanted to be with Billie forever, married or not married, "but will you marry me?"


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Do you want to come over for dinner?” 
> 
> A look of horror passed over Billie’s face, but she nodded slightly. “I guess,” she said. “If Steve can come and Jessica won’t make me feel like I’m a giant cow.”
> 
> “Of course Steven can come,” he assured her. “It’s going to be a proper dinner, me and Jess, you and Steven, and Liz and William.”

"Yes," Billie answered immediately, giving him a kiss on the lips. "Of course I'll marry you. Thank you for asking me."

"Really?" He asked in response, grinning widely. 

"Yes, really," she assured him, unbuckling her seatbelt to snuggle close to him. "I want to be your wife," she promised. "I'm going to be your wife," she whispered in an awed tone, almost unable to believe it. "Thank you," she said, choking up, as she wrapped her arms around him.

"I haven't even given you the ring yet," he commented, kissing her on the forehead.

"You didn't have to get me one," she told him softly as he handed her the jewelry box, which she carefully opened. "Oh... Steven, it's gorgeous." She kissed him on the lips. "Will you help me put it on?"

She smiled at her new fiance as he slipped the ring on her finger and she admired it.

"It's beautiful," she breathed. "Thanks so much."

"You deserve the best," he whispered huskily as he pulled her into a tight hug. "You're my girl, you've always deserved the best." She smiled into his chest, wanting nothing more than to stay in his arms forever.

“I love you,” she said, getting misty eyed. “So, so, so much.”

“I love you too,” he assured her, handing her some Kleenex. “I was afraid you would say no.”  

“Why?” Billie wondered, smoothing out his hair. 

“It’s a big deal,” he explained. “I just got nervous.”  

“I promise, you’ve got nothing to be nervous about,” she said, kissing him again. “I’m really happy,” she squealed. “I can’t wait for everyone to know. That you asked me to marry you and about the baby.”  

Billie was counting down the days until she could actually start telling people about the baby -- she wanted to wait until the first trimester had ended -- so the fact that she could tell people she was going to marry Steven made her feel positively giddy. 

“Yeah?” Steven asked excitedly.

“Yeah,” she said, squeezing his hand. “Of course.”

 

***

 

“Well, I’ll go,” Elizabeth told Jessica, much to the latter’s ire. “So long as William can come.” 

“Mike doesn’t like him,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Too bad.”  

“Oh, don’t be silly,” her twin replied. 

“You need to have the two of them get together, then they’ll start to like each other.”  

“I think it’s dumb,” Jessica said wearily. “Why does Mike have to get on with you and Steven at all?”  

Jessica had had it up to here with Mike’s -- in her opinion -- inane request that Steven and Liz get to know him, and had only agreed to the dinner to shut him up. As far as she was concerned, the dinner was a waste of time. It would be practically impossible to hide their marriage if they were all in the same apartment together.

“I won’t get on with him,” her sister promised, which was exactly what she wanted to hear. “What’s the point?”  

“Ugh, I know,” she drawled. “He’s been obnoxious over it. Bad enough Steven and Billie live above us. Next he’ll want to meet Mom and Dad.”

Please. Like Jessica would ever let Ned and Alice find out she was married. 

“What are you going to do about Parents‘ Weekend?” Elizabeth had the nerve to ask.

“Uh, duh,” she said, “I’ll convince Mike to do a weekend away. It’s not like he’ll have any knowledge of that.”  

“Maybe you two will have broken it off by then,” her twin mused. “When do your relationships ever last longer than a fortnight?”

She briefly considered telling Elizabeth that she and Mike had gotten married, but quickly decided against it. What would be the point? Her twin would have only gotten mad about her decision to hide the marriage, and there was no way she was ever going to not hide it. Far better for Liz to think she and Mike were merely dating. 

“Yeah, maybe you’re right,” Jessica said. “Maybe they’ll go on a cruise or something.”

“Or maybe Steven will do something daft,” Liz said. “You never know.”  

She snorted. “Please, responsible Steven? That’s a laugh.”

 

***

 

Mike stood nervously in front of Jessica’s brother’s apartment, a bit afraid of what Steven Wakefield’s reaction would be to him inviting him and his wife over to their place for dinner. Jessica had told him that it was his responsibility to get them to go, and he was pleased she’d given it to him.

He was about to knock on the door when it swung open, and Steven Wakefield himself exited. 

“Can I talk to you?” Mike asked, and his brother-in-law took out his earbuds and paused. 

“Thanks for the check,” Steven said to him, looking awkward. “Is that what you wanted to talk to me about?”

“I’m sorry about that,” he said, feeling his face flush. “I had no idea that Jessica had begged you for money, I wouldn’t have let her had I known.” 

“I don’t care about the money,” he replied, crossing his arms. “I care about the fact that Jessica’s been treating Billie like shit. I would give Jessica money every time I saw her if I thought it would change how she treats the woman I love.”  

“I’m sorry,” he said again.  

Why on earth was Jessica incapable of being polite, Mike wondered, more than ever determined to make it up to his brother and sister-in-law.

“It’s not your fault,” Steven muttered, glancing at his watch. “Look, I have to run, I have a job interview,” he said. “But you can talk to Billie, if you want. She’s in the kitchen.”  

Mike decided to head into the apartment, where he found Billie in the kitchen, like Steven had said she was.

“Hey,” he mumbled, feeling awkward. “Steven said I could come in.”  

Much to his eternal relief, she smiled at him. 

“Hi,” she said, offering him a plate of cookies. “Do you want one?”  

“Sure,” he said. He had been about to protest, but didn’t want to upset her. And Mike really wanted a cookie or two. 

“They’re chocolate chip,” she told him. “You can have a couple, if you want.” 

“Thanks,” he said, taking a cookie and biting into it. “They’re really good.”  

“You think so?” Billie asked him. “Thanks.” She smiled widely at him. “You can sit down, if you want. My feet hurt, I don’t bite.” 

She sat at the kitchen table and he sat across from her, reaching for another cookie. 

“You feeling better?”     
She nodded. “Yeah. Loads. Everything’s going along alright, thanks for asking.”  

Mike wondered if he could ask her if she was pregnant -- she looked a bit pregnant, especially since she had her arm draped across her middle -- before cringing at the thought of completely ruining his bout of civility with Steven by implying his wife was pregnant when she’d just put on a few pounds.

“Do you want to come over for dinner?” 

A look of horror passed over Billie’s face, but she nodded slightly. “I guess,” she said. “If Steve can come and Jessica won’t make me feel like I’m a giant cow.”

“Of course Steven can come,” he assured her. “It’s going to be a proper dinner, me and Jess, you and Steven, and Liz and William.”

Mike didn’t much like William White.

“William White creeps me out,” Billie said, shaking her head. “There’s something weird about him.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Steven doesn't hate you," she replied, and he actually felt relieved. "He has just been going through a rough time right about now, that's all."
> 
> "Because he's looking for a job?" Mike guessed.
> 
> "It's just a lot of stuff," she answered, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she did. "It's really got nothing to do with you, I promise."

"I've had it with you," Steven told Jessica, having finally located his doltish sister in the apartment below. "Why can't you leave Billie alone?"

His youngest sister flipped her hair over her shoulder. "Oh, please, what's the fun in that," she demanded airily. "Next you'll want me to be like Liz."

"I'll be speaking to Elizabeth next," he said wearily, feeling a Jessica-related headache coming on. "You really hurt her feelings the other day."

"Whose?"

He sighed. "Billie's."

Sometimes Steven really wondered if Jessica had been dropped on her head. There was really no excuse for her level of idiocy. 

"Oh, I don't care about Billie," she said with a smirk. "Maybe she shouldn't become such a fattass if she doesn't want me making fun of her. "You should have seen her eating all that greasy food, like totally ugh."

"She's not a fattass," Steven said forcefully. "Why are you such a bitch? What did Billie do to you?"

Jessica rolled her eyes. "She's ruining my chances of being a Theta," she told him. "They'll never take me seriously with her looking like a tub of lard."

 

***

 

"So you're not going to come?" Mike asked, and he tried hard not to let his disappointment show.

"No, I never said that," Billie responded. "I just think that he's creepy, that's all. Of course we'll come." She smiled hesitantly at him, and he managed to smile back.

"Steven won't want to," he muttered. 

"Why do you say that?" Her blue eyes were soft, clearly filled with concern.

"He hates me, Jessica said."

"Steven doesn't hate you," she replied, and he actually felt relieved. "He has just been going through a rough time right about now, that's all."

"Because he's looking for a job?" Mike guessed.

"It's just a lot of stuff," she answered, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she did. "It's really got nothing to do with you, I promise."

Mike didn't really know if he believed her, but he didn't say anything. 

"Why did Jess say that then?" Mike asked softly. "Why did she lie?"

"I don't know," Billie told him. "I don't know why she does. Come here," she added, standing up and giving him a hug. "I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry for?" Mike asked bluntly. "You're not a liar."

"I just thought you needed a hug," she said softly, looking down as she did. "That's all."

Mike felt like a horrible ass. He didn't want his own insecurities -- of which there were many -- to be the reason that his sister-in-law felt bad about herself. It wasn't her fault that Jessica made him feel so weak and useless. 

"Does Steven need a job?" He asked bluntly, trying to make it up to her. "I can get him one, working for me."

"He's not very good at cars, though," she said. "He can't be a mechanic."

"No, not as a mechanic," he assured her. The thought of Steven Wakefield working on cars for paying customers frankly horrified Mike McAllery more than a little bit. "More like office support."

"Okay," she said. "I'll tell him about it. Anything is better than Taylor's."

 

***

 

"Don't give me that look," Billie told Steven tiredly when he arrived home from his interview and she'd told him about their dinner invitation. "What is the worst that could happen?"

"It's my family, Billie," he said in a flat tone. "That sentence alone is like tempting fate."

"I know," she admitted ruefully. "But I want to start telling people," she mumbled, as she rested her hand on her belly. "I'm fed up with hiding it."

"Me too," he whispered, his hands joining hers as he came up behind her. "I want everyone to know you're having our baby."

"I can't believe they haven't figured it out yet," she said honestly. "I think I'm starting to show."

"Yeah?" Steven asked her excitedly, moving his hands around on her belly. "You think so? I wanna see."

"You don't have to ask," she told him. "You're my fiance. It's your baby."

"I like that," he said, threading his fingers through hers. "I love you."

"I love you too," she whispered. "I can't wait to be your wife."

"When do you want to be?" Steven asked.

"Soon," she said, standing on her tiptoes for a kiss. "Very soon."

"I want to do right by you," he told her seriously. "I don't want you to want for nothing, okay?"

"You are doing right," she told him. "You're doing everything right, I promise."

Billie really hated when Steven put himself down, she thought he was the world's best fiance and provider. They were only twenty after all, she reckoned, what were they meant to do? It wasn't like they had meant to have her fall pregnant when she had. 

"Mike said he has a job for you," she remembered.

"I can't be a mechanic," he protested. "I can barely keep our cars in working shape."

"No, not as a mechanic," she soothed. "I think Mike figured that bit about you out. He said you would be office support, yeah? Like answering the phones, scheduling things, stuff like that. Will you at least consider it?"

"Okay," he said, much to her surprise. "I'll go 'round and talk to him. Properly."

"You will?" 

He nodded. "Yeah," he said. "I should at least give it a go, right?"

"Thank you," she whispered, giving him another kiss, which she deepened as he pulled her close. "You will, right?" Billie breathed as they pulled apart.

He smirked. "I'll definitely give it a go if you'll kiss me like that." 

"I'm serious, Steve," she protested, hitting him on the arm. "I think that it's nice of Mike to offer you a job."

"I know," he told her. "And I will check it out."

"Did you want to see my belly?" Billie asked gently, remembering how he'd asked if he could. "I'll show you, if you want."

"Yeah," he said, grinning from ear to ear. "Of course, that's our baby. I want to see it."

 

***

 

"Great," Jessica said flatly, hoping Mike would realize she was the exact opposite of thrilled. "I'm so happy that Steven and Billie said yes to your invitation."

She wasn't. 

In fact, she was going to kill Steven and Billie for doing so. 

"I know, it really is," Mike agreed, giving her a kiss. "I can't wait to get to know your siblings."

"Isn't knowing me good enough?" Jessica wondered. "Why aren't I good enough?"

"You're my wife," he replied. "I wanna know your family. They're important to you."

"Why don't you like things the way they are?" She asked tiredly. "I don't see why everyone has to know."

 

***

 

"Come 'ere," Billie told him, and he let her take him by the hand and led him over to the couch, where she sat him down and stood in front of him, lifting her shirt up so he could see her entire abdomen. "What do you think?"

"Cool," Steven said sincerely and he grinned, reaching out to touch it. "Hi baby," he said, and he pressed a kiss to her belly. "It's Daddy, yeah?"

He pulled away and patted his lap, wanting Billie to join him on the couch. She quickly obliged him.

"You're gorgeous," he whispered in her ear, noticing how quickly she blushed. "And, yeah, you're totally showing."

"I'm still gorgeous?" Billie asked him. 

"Yeah," he said. "Why wouldn't I think that?"

"Because I'm fat," she moaned. "You'll never want me anymore, I'm as big as a house."

"That's not true," he told her. "Of course I still want you. You're having our baby, it's okay that you're gaining weight," he promised. "I think it's cute that you're showing."

"You do?" 

Steven nodded, kissing her on the cheek. "Yeah, that's our baby in there," he said earnestly. "I love it, and I love you."

"I know," she whispered. "I'm just hormonal, that's all."

"I know, babe," he assured her. "I don't mind telling you how gorgeous you are," he promised. "Whatever makes you feel good." She snuggled up to him, and he heard her let out a yawn. "You tired, babe?"

"A little," she told him, smiling softly. "It's nice being here with you, though. I don't want to get up."

"You don't have to," he promised. "You can sleep here. I'll just watch some TV."

Steven felt rather guilty that Billie was clearly exhausted, and decided that if she wanted a cuddle and a nap, who was he to stop her? All he wanted was for her to be happy. 

"You sure?" 

"Yeah," he said, running his fingers through her hair. "Of course."

"Mmm," she said, leaning his head against his chest. "Thanks."

"For what?" Steven wondered. 

"For being a good guy," she mumbled, shrugging. "That's all."

"You don't have to thank me," he said. "I love you."

"I love you too," she whispered. "Thank you for asking me to marry you."

"You're welcome," he told her. "Thanks for saying yes."

"Of course I did," she said, grinning up at him. "I love you. Why wouldn't I?"

"You know me," he said. "I just got nervous, that's all." He paused, reaching out to touch her bump again. "Do you think it'll like me?"

Billie nodded. "Yeah, why wouldn't it? You're its daddy. The best guy in the world."


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Fine," he said, smiling evilly. "I'll go."
> 
> "Oh, really, William?" Elizabeth asked happily, giving him a kiss on the lips. "You're the best boyfriend in the entire world."
> 
> "Indeed, my rose," he told her. "Why wouldn't I want the pleasure of a family dinner like you've described?"

Billie's little fashion show had been going on for far too long in Steven's opinion, especially since he'd erroneously assumed when she told him that he was getting one, that it was a euphemism for getting laid. He thought she was so sexy, and it killed him that she clearly didn't, since he was watching outfit number twenty being discarded.

"Hey," he commanded, determined to stop her before she cried again. "Come 'ere." He beckoned her close to him, wrapping his arms around her. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing fits," she wailed, sobbing into his chest. "I look like an elephant."

"You don't look like an elephant," he told her. "You're pregnant, that's all. And I thought you looked cute."

She smiled up at him, albeit tearily. "You do?" 

"Yeah," he said, wiping her tears away with the pads of his thumbs. "Don't beat yourself up, okay? It's just a stupid dinner."

"I know," she admitted, and he heard her sigh. "I'm sorry. I'm just all worked up over nothing." 

"Don't be sorry," he told her. "It's okay for you to have feelings."

Billie sniffled. "I know," she told him. "I'm just tired, that's all." 

"Wanna take a nap?" Steven asked, rubbing her belly for a second as he did. "I don't mind."

"I wanna spend time with you," she whispered. "I don't wanna sleep." Steven heard her yawn as she said that, and he stroked her back. 

"I know baby," he told her. "But we can nap together, yeah? Would you like that?"

She nodded. "Yeah, wanna cuddle," she whispered. "That would be nice."

He grinned. "Why are you so sleepy?" Steven asked, teasingly. "The baby's growin'?"

She nodded. "I think so," she sighed. "Will you still think I'm cute if I weigh five billion pounds?"

"Yeah," he promised. "I'll think you're sexy."

She giggled at him. "You promise?"

Steven nodded, as he kissed the top of her head. "Yeah, I promise. You excited for your appointment tomorrow?" 

He was. Steven was so excited about the upcoming appointment that he wanted to take out a billboard about it. So to say that he was relieved when Billie nodded excitedly was an understatement. 

"We get to find out what we're having," she said excitedly, grinning up at him. 

 

***

 

"...and anyways, Jessica wants us to come over for dinner," his female companion continued to prattle on -- William White had not expected Elizabeth Wakefield to be so terribly annoying, he really hadn't -- oblivious to the fact that he was clearly not listening to the conversation. 

Except that he'd heard the bit about dinner at McAllery's, much to his disgust. 

"No," he said silkily, lips curling up in a smirk. "Why would I do that?"

William White gave Elizabeth a cold, calculating, stare, wondering why on earth she was expecting him to attend a family dinner at Mike McAllery's. Had his naively delusional girlfriend taken a knock to the head? Everyone knew that he and McAllery hated each other.

William hated Mike even more than he hated black people, and that was saying something. 

"Oh, please, William?" Elizabeth begged him, taking his hands in hers and getting on her knees. It was almost laughable how pathetic she was. "I told Jess we'd go, it would mean so much for her for you to go and hate Mike."

"What?" William asked boredly, though he was certainly intrigued. "I have permission to hate him?"

She nodded. "Yes, of course," she said, smiling widely at him. "Whatever makes you comfortable."

"Fine," he said, smiling evilly. "I'll go."

"Oh, really, William?" Elizabeth asked happily, giving him a kiss on the lips. "You're the best boyfriend in the entire world."

"Indeed, my rose," he told her. "Why wouldn't I want the pleasure of a family dinner like you've described?"

 

***

Billie watched the clock on the wall of the lecture hall, hoping that it would signal the end of class soon enough, both because she had to go to the bathroom and because after class they got to go to her doctor's appointment and see the baby.

Billie really wanted to have another ultrasound, she thought they were so cool.

Waiting for class to end was quickly becoming an eternity. 

She pulled out her phone and read the latest response from Steven, grinning as she did.

He was so cute how he cared about the baby, how he cared about her, how he cared about the three of them. 

She glanced down at her abdomen -- at the slight swell that her fiance thought was the best thing ever -- and she gently rubbed her belly, not really caring who saw. 

We miss you, she texted Steven, and she took a picture of her bump and sent it to him. Me and baby baby.

He immediately texted back. I miss you too. Just a few more minutes, ya?

Yeah, she replied. Wanna find out what were havin.

She really was looking forward to that, she really really was. She couldn't wait to start buying cute little baby clothes and things for the baby's room. She really couldn't wait to find out what they were having so they could start telling people.

She boredly wrote down the next class's reading assignment -- she hoped Steven would help her with it, or at least make it less mindnumbingly dull -- and snuck out the back of the lecture hall before she was delayed. 

"Hi," she said to Steven -- her fiance -- finding him waiting there to pull her into a hug. "I'm excited," she squealed, wrapping her arms around him tightly.

"Me too," he chuckled, as he smiled down at her. "I love you."

"I know," she said. "I love you too."

"You feel okay?" He asked her worriedly, and she felt him rub her sides. 

"Yeah," she said. "I feel pretty good."

"I'm glad," he murmured, kissing her on the forehead. "Really glad."

"Me too," she assured him. "Thanks for coming with me," she whispered, standing on her tiptoes to kiss him firmly on the mouth. 

"Why wouldn't I come with you?" Steven asked. "I want to know what's going on."

"I know," she assured him, threading her fingers through his and squeezing his hand tightly. "You're my good guy."

"You happy?" He asked worriedly, and she nodded. 

"Yeah," she said. "I promise. Would I lie to you?" She kissed him again, a gentler kiss than before, running an affectionate hand down his face. "I meant what I said earlier," she promised. "While I was in class."

The nervous look that had been on Steven's face had been replaced by a rather smug, self satisfied, smile, but BIllie was rather glad to see it. She didn't want Steven to feel nervous about her and the baby, after all. They loved him. They loved everything he was doing for them, everything he was trying to do for him, and she really hated that he doubted that for even a second. She didn't want him to doubt it, she didn't. 

"When you said you missed me?" Steven breathed in a whisper, and she nodded eagerly. "The both of you?"

"Yes," she said firmly. "Of course we did," she assured him. "Of course."

"I missed you too," he choked. "I love you," he said, kissing her on the top of the head, before he pulled away and kneeled on the ground so he was eye level with her abdomen. "I love you too," he whispered, nuzzling her belly. "It's Daddy, yeah?"

"The baby knows," she assured him. "How can it not?"

 

***

 

"I got him a present," Steven informed Billie when they got home from the doctor's. He had bought the stuffed animal a couple days previously and had been waiting for the perfect time to give it to her. 

"You didn't have to," she protested weakly, though he could tell by the smile on her lips and the blush covering her face that she was happy he did. "Can I open it?"

"Of course," he told her, and he pressed his palms against her swollen abdomen, taken aback by how gorgeous she looked. "Are you sad he's a boy?"

She shook her head. "No, I'm not," she answered, and she covered both his hands with her own. "Are you?"

He grinned at her. "You know I would have been happy either way," he said sincerely. "Boy or girl."

"I know," she murmured. "Can I see the present?" 

Billie looked so pleased at the fact that Steven had gotten their baby a gift that he cursed himself inwardly for not doing anything like that before. He had thought that she would find the idea to be so stupid that he had honestly been afraid to tell her about the one he'd gotten now. Steven went into their bedroom and got the gift bag from the closet, where he'd buried it under a pile of Billie's shoes. She hadn't been wearing her high heels as much as she'd done before she'd fallen pregnant, and he had to say he didn't mind a bit if she were to embrace the barefoot and pregnant stereotype. He thought she was beautiful. 

When he came back out the their living room, his fiancee had settled herself on their old, comfortable, velvet couch, and she was looking intently at the copies of the ultrasound that they'd gotten. He sat down beside her, and she snuggled up against him. 

"It's pretty amazing," he told her. "That we've got pictures of our baby."

"Do you want some for your desk at work?" Billie asked him. Steven had taken a temporary job at his father's law firm, which he loathed.

"I'm going to do it," he decided. "I'm going to ask Mike for a job."

"What about your dad?" Steven shook his head, roughly. He didn't give two shits about what pissed off Ned Wakefield. "You don't care if he's angry with you?"

"He'll get over it," he said. "I don't want to be far away from you," he said honestly. "Not while you're pregnant. What if you need me?"

Her blue eyes filled with tears. "Thank you," she murmured. "I don't like you being far away either. Neither does he."

He impulsively gave her belly a series of kisses, wanting their son to know he was there. That he would always be there, that he would never be far away. He couldn't bear the thought of their baby being upset. Or his mommy.

"You wanna open the gift?" Steven asked earnestly, as he remembered it was sat next to him on the couch. He really just wanted her tears to go away.

"Yeah," she said softly, taking it from him and opening the bag, carefully unwrapping the tissue paper to reveal the stuffed tiger. "Oh, Steve, you bought him a stuffed animal."

"I know it's not something he needs --"

"Of course it is," she promised. "I love it. I love you."

"I love you too," he breathed. "You really love it?"

She nodded. "Yeah, of course. Of course I do."

Steven grinned. He had done something right. "Can I buy him more?" 

"Of course," was her reply, and she squeezed his hand tightly. "He'd love that. Cuddly toys from his daddy. I'd love it too."


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The couple in the apartment below was rowing again. Jessica and Mike were going to be the ones that did her in, not the Wakefield parents. At least Alice and Ned hadn't decided to spend every night shouting at each other. 
> 
> But she and Steven would never be like that. They'd never have eardrum bursting fights in the wee hours of the morning, throwing things at each other -- Billie winced as she heard the crack of something glass being thrown down below -- she was sure of it. 
> 
> "I don't have any secrets!" Billie heard the irate voice of her future sister-in-law shout, as she burrowed closer against her fiance, trying to get back to sleep. "Maybe I don't want to have the whole world knowing our business, alright???"
> 
> "I just want people to know about us!" Came the response, and she could barely stop herself from shouting back. She had absolutely had it with Jessica and Mike's constant arguing.

Elizabeth Wakefield clucked to herself as she spotted Enid -- she certainly wasn't going to call her Alex, was she? -- Rollins in the company of a gaggle of Thetas, including -- of all people -- her wayward twin. Like being in a relationship with someone who succumbed to bribery wasn't bad enough, she groused inwardly, wondering where mild-mannered Enid had gone off the rails this time. 

Living in Elizabeth's shadow? As if. 

In Elizabeth's mind, this betrayal was the absolute worst thing that her former best friend had ever done, and she'd once paralyzed someone. 

Picking herself up from the table she had been planning on sitting at, she surveyed the dining hall, searching for anyone she knew. She wouldn't give her identical twin and her former best friend the satisfaction of seeing her eating alone.

It wasn't her fault William had one of his book group meetings. She thought he was so wise.

Fortunately for her college social standings, she spotted her older brother sat at a table nearby, seemingly hard at work. 

"Where have you been?" Elizabeth asked Steven, who looked somewhat annoyed at being bothered. 

He shrugged. "Around."

"Don't you want to know how I've been?" She smiled at him as she awaited his response. 

"I'm kinda busy right now," he replied, typing away at his keyboard. "I have a lot of stuff going on."

That was not the response that she had been expecting from her older brother. Elizabeth huffed in disapproval.

"That's the type of response I'd expect from Jessica," she told Steven, taking a bite of her salad. "Don't you want to hear about my new boyfriend?"

He let out a snort. "William, you mean?"

Elizabeth beamed. "Yes, that would be him."

"I know about William," he replied, eating his sandwich. "I don't think you should date him. He's bad news."

"You don't know anything about him," she informed him, eyes flashing. "You just think you do."

 

***

 

"I tried," Steven informed his fiancee, later that night when he returned home. "I told her that I thought William was bad news and she ignored me. I've had it with them."

"Who's them?" Billie asked, tasting the sauce she was making before coming over to him. "Your sisters?"

"The whole lot of them," he said decisively. "Them, my parents, everyone in my family." He paused for a minute, before pulling her close to him as quickly as he could, causing her to squeal. "Except this family," he murmured, nuzzling her neck. "This family is awesome." He felt all his stress slipping away as his girl pressed herself against him, her growing bump making its presence known. "How's my buddy doing?" He asked, his voice dropped to a low register. 

Billie beamed up at him. "He's good," she replied. "I've been feeling really good today."

His grin quickly matched hers. "That's good," he said encouragingly, as he ran his hands down her sides. "I don't like when you're sick," he murmured, looking down. 

"I know you don't," she said, kissing him softly. "Can you make your meatballs for me?" Billie asked hopefully. "That's what he wants me to have."

"Yeah, of course," he breathed, in awe over the fact that their little baby knew what he wanted to eat already. "Of course I will."

"Thanks," she said, rubbing his back. "You're a really good guy, Steven Wakefield," she continued. "Whether you believe me or not is up to you."

"I believe you," he said earnestly. Because he did. Billie didn't have any reason to have him on. 

Steven set off to work making the requested meatballs, watching his pregnant fiancee make herself comfortable on their couch out of the corner of his eye. All he wanted was for her and their little baby to be doing well. He didn't really care about anything else, not even his wayward sisters and their inane antics. 

"Here, gorgeous," he said, bringing the pasta and meatballs over to her. "You don't have to get up, you look comfy."

"Will you eat with me?" Billie asked softly. 

"Yeah, of course," he said easily. "Of course I'll eat with you."

She beamed up at him, reaching up to squeeze his hand. "Thanks," she told him. 

Steven really didn't need Billie to thank him, she was his gorgeous pregnant fiancee after all, at he wanted to do was make her and their little baby were happy. And Billie certainly looked happy when he got his bowl and joined her, he noted, grinning as she cuddled close to him. Almost subconsciously, he slipped his hand over her belly, lifting her shirt slightly and rubbing her bare skin. 

"It's alright, yeah?" Steven asked softly, his brown eyes crinkled with concern. He didn't want to hurt her or the baby or anything. "Not bugging you?"

"You worry too much," she replied, placing her small hand over his. "It's fine, I like it. You're doing a good job."

"I don't wanna fuck it up," was the response that slipped out, even though he hadn't meant it to. "What if he hates me? What if I'm not good at this?"

"He's not going to hate you," Billie whispered, looking at him seriously. "You're not going to be bad at this, I promise. I know you, Steven Wakefield, and I know you'll be a good dad. You're already a good dad, I promise you are."

"You promise?" His voice was hollow, and he could feel himself about to break down. She nodded, shifting so she was on his lap. 

"Yeah, of course," she soothed. "Just the fact that you're worried about it means you're a good one."

Despite his misgivings, he smiled at that. "I just wanna do everything right, yeah?"

"I know," she said, kissing him softly. "Honey, I know. I know you do."

Steven kissed her back, his trepidation melting away. If Billie thought he was a good dad, well, that proved it. He'd have to be to make sure that he didn't let either of them down. 

"Does he kick yet?" He asked hopefully, his brown eyes filled with curiosity. He pressed his fingers down on her abdomen, hoping to feel something in response. 

"I think he's still too little," Billie whispered. "I haven't felt anything, at least. But I like when you do that."

His brown eyes crinkled as he gently kissed her. "I love when you like it," he murmured. "So much."

 

***

Steven's body was pressed against hers as she woke up, hot, sweaty, and slick from sex. She had meant to take a shower after their second round, but exhaustion on her part and Steven's protests that he didn't mind her cuddling up to him in that state had won out, mostly because he had started rubbing her back and lulled her to a sound sleep. She looked down at her changing body, attempting to banish her negative thoughts about herself. If Steven thought she looked good, she had to.

The couple in the apartment below was rowing again. Jessica and Mike were going to be the ones that did her in, not the Wakefield parents. At least Alice and Ned hadn't decided to spend every night shouting at each other. 

But she and Steven would never be like that. They'd never have eardrum bursting fights in the wee hours of the morning, throwing things at each other -- Billie winced as she heard the crack of something glass being thrown down below -- she was sure of it. 

"I don't have any secrets!" Billie heard the irate voice of her future sister-in-law shout, as she burrowed closer against her fiance, trying to get back to sleep. "Maybe I don't want to have the whole world knowing our business, alright???"

"I just want people to know about us!" Came the response, and she could barely stop herself from shouting back. She had absolutely had it with Jessica and Mike's constant arguing.

It was making it impossible for her to sleep. 

Also making it impossible for her to sleep was the fact that Steven had woken and was placing a trail of kisses down her neck.

"Hi hunny," she whispered softly, letting out a low moan. "Up for round three?"

"Really?" Steven asked appreciatively, before trailing the kisses down her clavicle and down her breasts. She let out a pleasured mewl, nodding minutely. Even if she hadn't been really up for a round three when she'd asked, she certainly was now. 

"If you keep doing that," she whispered throatily, tugging off the boxers he'd put on after their activities earlier. "Absolutely,"

 

***

 

The day that Jessica had been dreading had finally arrived, and to say that she was hoping that Steven and Billie would have a sudden return of their mysterious illness was an understatement. Elizabeth was her twin, she could always be trusted to pander to Jessica's inane whims, but her older brother and his girlfriend were another story. 

If Steven found out that she and Mike were married and not just living together he would insist on telling their parents, and she didn't want that to happen. As far as she was concerned she and Mike's marriage was best kept a secret.

She didn't understand why he wanted people to know.

"I still don't see what the big deal is," Jessica drawled, waking Mike as he slept on the couch. "Why does it matter to you?"

"Because I want people to know we're married," he told her, in a tone that she didn't much approve of. "You act like you don't want anyone to find out."

That was because she didn't. Duh. Was Mike daft or something?

"I just want us to have something special," she purred. "Just the two of us."

"Everyone knows about Steven and Billie," her husband protested. "You act like people will bring up the fact that we're married all the time, no one does that to them."

Jessica snorted. "Oh, please, there's nothing to know about Steven and Billie," she groused. "They're Steven and Billie, the boring perfect white bread couple. What could there possibly be to know about them?"


	9. Chapter Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An ominous shadow cast over their chair and Steven prayed that it wasn't Jessica paying them a visit. She was driving him nuts.

Steven tried to get comfortable on the lounge chair that he and Billie were sharing at the pool, though that was being proved difficult by the fact that his four months pregnant fiancee was sound asleep on his arm. Still, he didn't complain. She was clearly exhausted. And he really didn't mind her using him as a pillow. 

He gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead, grinning when she smiled in her sleep in response. He loved her so much.

An ominous shadow cast over their chair and Steven prayed that it wasn't Jessica paying them a visit. She was driving him nuts. 

"You're still coming, right?" Steven heard a male voice ask, and he squinted in his direction. It was Mike McAllery. "To the dinner tonight?"

He was really half tempted to say no. Both of his sisters had been positively horrible to his virtual wife since their arrival on campus, and frankly he was fed up with it. But on the other hand, it wasn't like Mike had done anything to them, or to her. And he really did want to clear the air. 

"Billie said yes, right?" He said in reply, as she snuggled closer to him, thus finally freeing his arm. 

"Yeah," his downstairs neighbor agreed, looking over at her before nodding. "But Jessica said you wouldn't want to come."

"Jessica said that?" Steven asked, his tone deceptively calm. "Did she really?"

Mike nodded. "Yeah, she said you were having me on by agreeing." 

Well, frankly, that settled it. His irritation at having to sit opposite Dumb and Dumber for a ninety minute period of time had been overruled by the fact that Jessica was portraying him as the world's most horrible person. 

"I wasn't having a go on you," he told Mike firmly. "And neither was Billie. We'll go."

" _Really_???" Mike asked excitedly, reminding him a bit of a little boy on Christmas. "You really really mean it???"

Steven nodded. "Yeah," he promised, unconsciously running his hand up and down Billie's side as he did. "Of course we'll be there."

"Great," he said. "I'll see you then?"

He nodded again, as Billie's hand covered his and kept it in its position, firmly pressed against the slight swell of her bump. "We'll be there," he repeated. "I wouldn't lie to you."

His downstairs neighbor stood there for another moment -- Steven had noticed that he seemed _nervous_ , why was he _nervous_? -- before clearing his throat. "I gotta go," he said, wiping his palms on his coveralls. "See you then."

"Yeah," he echoed, "see you." 

Steven Wakefield watched Michael McAllery turn tail and leave the pool, leaving the fence to clang shut behind him. He wondered what _that_ had been about. Honestly, was he that frightening a person? Beside him, Billie stirred, staring up at him with sleepy blue eyes. 

"What was that all about?" She asked, reaching up to tousle his hair. "Were you defending my virtue, Steven Wakefield?" Her tone of voice was teasing, and he grinned down at her, planting a kiss on her forehead. 

"We were talking about dinner," he said. "You feel up to it?"

She nodded, rubbing her belly as she did. "Yeah," she said. "Everything's fine," she whispered. "Sorry I fell asleep."

"Don't be," he murmured, putting a protective arm around her shoulders. "Pregnant women need their rest, yeah? And I don't mind you sleepin' on me. I think it's cute."

"You were rubbing my belly," she said in reply, leaning in to his embrace. "You're always doing that lately." She smiled up at him. 

"I can't help it," he said earnestly, as he let her take his hand in his and move it around her abdomen. "You're _showing_ more now and that's _our baby_. I love our baby."

"I know," she assured him. "He loves you too."

Somehow, when Billie gave him her sincere assurances about the baby loving him, the majority of Steven's doubts about the pregnancy and how he was going to handle being a father at [i]twenty-one[/i] went away. Even though he was majorly overwhelmed about the fact that in five short months they were going to be [i]parents[/i], he always felt better when she let him know how much she -- and their son -- loved him. It made him feel like he wouldn't screw up completely. 

"Do you think we'll be alright at this?" Steven asked her softly, stroking her hair as she leaned her head against his chest. "This baby thing?"

"Of course," Billie replied, flashing him a smile. "You're already alright at this." She gave his hand a tight squeeze. "I promise," she whispered. "Why are you so worried about that?"

"I'll always worry about you," he murmured. 

"You're very sweet," she whispered. "To both of us."

He grinned at her statement, wrapping his arms tightly around her.


End file.
